His gaze drags over my face like he’s searching for the lie.
“I’m not touching you,” he says finally. “If I get in that bed, my hands stay to myself.”
I nod fast. “Okay.”
His eyes darken. “You sure?”
I take a shaky breath. “Yes.”
Sin stands slowly. He moves to the bed and stops beside it, waiting like he’s handing the choice back to me.
I scoot over.
He brings the blanket with him, folds it once, and lies down on top of it like a barrier he can control. He stares at the ceiling.
I pull my blanket up around me, staying under it.
My breathing finally slows because he’s here.
Because I can hear him breathe.
Because his presence feels like a wall between me and everything that wants to drag me back.
After a long moment, Sin turns his head slightly.
“You need sleep,” he murmurs.
My throat tightens. “So do you.”
His mouth twitches, almost a smile, then fades.
“You have no idea,” he whispers.
I swallow. “Thank you.”
Something moves across his face, quick and raw.
Then he looks back at the ceiling and says, quieter, almost gentle, “Sleep, Ruby.”
And this time, my body listens.
Chapter 5
Sin
It’smorning,butRubystill sleeps like her body hasn’t decided whether it’s allowed.
Her breathing stays shallow, then deepens for a few seconds before catching again, like some bad dream dragged her back under. Her lashes tremble. Her hand tightens in the blanket.
I stay still on top of my folded blanket, on my side of the bed, like a man who knows exactly how fast one wrong move turns safety into a lie.
The mattress shifts every time she moves. A soft sound. A brush of fabric. The faint drift of her warmth in my direction, and my body answers like it’s been starved.
It’s a special kind of hell, lying this close to a woman who smells like vanilla and sweetness, knowing one wrong touch could throw her right back onto that stage.
My jaw already aches from clenching it.
I keep my hands to myself. I keep my breathing even. When I want to look at her mouth, I look at the ceiling instead.
